181 Queen Street - Base Building

SHARE THIS

Project Overview

This project consists of a new office tower located in the heart of downtown Ottawa, bordered by Sparks and Queen Streets. It consists of 12 storeys, with three levels of underground parking. PCL was also contracted by the building owner to complete fit-ups for the building’s two major tenants: CBC-Radio Canada (a fit-up of 143,000 square feet), and Public Works and Government Services Canada (a fit-up of 125,000 square feet).

The main structure is cast-in-place concrete with a structural steel mechanical penthouse. The 270,000-square-foot building is clad in blue-green glass, grey precast concrete, and reddish-brown clay brick. The Queen Street side on the south is detailed with pilasters and a curved wall of blue-green glass. The Sparks Street side to the north was designed to meet various constraints. The National Capital Commission design committee requested a brick façade to blend with nearby older buildings. Upper storeys terrace back to comply with City of Ottawa height restrictions and sun angles, calculated to bring sunshine into the Sparks Street Mall.

The signature element of the design is a bank of 12-foot-high windows at ground level, affording views into CBC’s radio and TV studios and the newsroom. Passersby can see newscasters presenting the news, radio hosts on air in glass booths, and reporters writing or conducting interviews.